For a light, warm weather dessert, combine assorted chilled fresh fruit and berries and toss with a splash of triple sec or mint flavored liqueur. Ladle fruit into a chilled bowl or stemmed wine or martini glass for a bit of flair. Top fruit with a small scoop of lemon ice sorbet and garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.
For more casual serving ideas, simply hollow out the lemon halves to create a ‘bowl.’ Place a scoop of lemon sorbet inside it and enjoy!
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
2 cups fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 egg whites
METHOD:
In a medium saucepan, combine water and sugar. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes or until sugar is completely dissolved. Cool.
Combine simple syrup, fresh lemon juice, and lemon zest. Chill thoroughly for 2-3 hours.
Pour the mixture into the chilled bowl of the ice cream maker (an electric version works best for this dessert). Following the manufacturer’s directions, freeze the mixture for 15 minutes, then check; the mixture should be slushy.
Beat egg whites into soft peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the lemon mixture. Return the mixture to the ice cream maker and freeze for another 15 minutes or until it reaches the consistency of a firm slush. Place mixture into a container with a lid and allow to harden in the freezer one hour before serving.
If lemon sorbet is to be held longer in the freezer for more than two hours, remove it from the freezer and place it in the refrigerator about half an hour before serving.
Variation: A refreshing alternative is to add fresh mint leaves from 6-8 mint sprigs (about half a cup, lightly packed) to the hot simple syrup just after it is removed from the heat. When cool, pour syrup through a fine mesh strainer to remove leaves. Continue with recipe as written. Another tasty variation is to use Meyer lemon juice and zest, which is especially nice with mint.
YIELD: Makes 1 quart.
